Tadej Pogacar won Stage 4 of the Tour de France to reclaim the yellow jersey as he opened up a lead of more than half a minute on defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and his other chief rivals.
Pogacar attacked from a select group inside the final kilometre of the mighty Galibier climb before racing clear down the twisty descent to the finish in Valloire as the race crossed into France after three days on Italian soil.
Richard Carapaz cracked with six kilometres of the Galibier climb still to go to lose his grip on yellow after only one day, finishing some five minutes back.
The Ecuadorian was among a string of high-profile victims of a blistering pace on the climb set by Pogacar’s UAE Emirates teammates, who whittled the pack down to just a handful of contenders before the Slovenian, who bided his time to attack wary of a powerful headwind, made his move.
Vingegaard was quick to respond, but a gap of few bike lengths had opened up by the time Pogacar claimed the bulk of the bonus seconds on offer at the summit, with Remco Evenepoel third at the top before Carlos Rodriguez and Primoz Roglic.
That trio would catch Vingegaard on a descent that included several corners left wet by snow melt, but Pogacar was stretching his lead in front as he came home to claim his 12th career Tour stage win.
“I’m super happy,” Pogacar said. “This was more or less the plan and we executed it really well. It was like a dream stage, to finish solo is incredible.
“I wanted to hit it hard today. I know this stage really well. I’ve been training here for a lot of weeks already and it was like a home stage passing through Sestriere.
“It was nice to get the bonus seconds on top. I was confident at the start, I had good legs and I had to try.”
Evenepoel crossed the line second to pick up bonus time, with Pogacar’s teammate Juan Ayuso sprinting for third to deny Roglic any extra seconds, and Vingegaard crossing the line another two seconds back in fifth.
Pogacar now leads overall by 45 seconds from Evenepoel, with Vingegaard third, 50 seconds down. Roglic sits fifth with a 74-second deficit, two seconds ahead of Rodriguez in sixth.
Vingegaard had been able to follow Pogacar’s attack on the San Luca on Sunday, but here there was enough of a gap for Pogacar to smell blood.
However, Vingegaard came into this Tour undercooked after his horror crash in the Basque Country in April and will still believe he can come good later in the race as long as he keeps Pogacar within reach.
The finale to the 140km stage from Pinerolo, which packed in more than 3,600 metres of climbing, brought back memories of Tom Pidcock’s stunning descent down the Galibier on his way to winning on the Alpe d’Huez in 2022.
But any hopes of a repeat for the Olympic mountain bike champion were dashed as he was dropped as the gradients ramped up in the final seven kilometres of this Alpine beast, which tops out above 2,600 metres.
With Adam Yates pressing on the pedals in service of Pogacar, his twin brother Simon was also dropped early on, with the Jayco-Alula leader shipping four minutes as attention will turn to stage-hunting.
Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal also faded well before the summit to leave Rodriguez as the sole carrier of the Ineos Grenadiers’ general classification hopes.
Explained
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Comment on Coronavirus
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Kareem Shaheen on Canada
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Towering concerns
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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• The National announces Future of News journalism competition
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Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
Jack Moore: Why the assassination is such a monumental gamble
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Hussein Ibish: Trump's order on solid constitutional ground
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• Could the UAE drive India's economy?
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Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
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The specs: 2018 Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic HSE
Price, base / as tested: Dh263,235 / Dh420,000
Engine: 3.0-litre supercharged V6
Power 375hp @ 6,500rpm
Torque: 450Nm @ 3,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.4L / 100kms
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Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
War on waste
Tomorrow 2021
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
The national orchestra
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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The biog
Full name: Aisha Abdulqader Saeed
Age: 34
Emirate: Dubai
Favourite quote: "No one has ever become poor by giving"
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Sting & Shaggy
44/876
(Interscope)
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The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
The five pillars of Islam
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative
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National Editorial: Suleimani has been killed, now we must de-escalate
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Damien McElroy: A CEO tasked with spreading Iran's influence
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
